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Data Tables in Microsoft Excel 2008

Data Tables let you see how the results of a formula change as its underlying variables change. After entering data, select the entire table and choose Data > Table. Then tell Excel which row input cell and column input cells you want the table to use. Finally, click OK. Excel will crunch the numbers and present a new Data Table.

Mike Masnick of Techdirt reports on tech entrepreneur Brian Fitzpatrick’s close encounter with an unwanted DRM plug-in, courtesy of United Airlines. It seems the airline is beta-testing what it calls its “Personal Device Entertainment” option, by which passengers can use the in-flight Wi-Fi to view movies on their own devices. However, Fitzpatrick learned that the option requires the installation of both a DRM plug-in and Flash on personal computers, and the required plug-in is considered dangerous enough that Google Chrome does not support it for security reasons. Maybe Fitzpatrick should have just rented headphones and purchased an alcoholic beverage.

Smile has released TextExpander 5 for Yosemite and TextExpander touch 3.5 for iOS, featuring suggested snippets based on what you type repeatedly, new search capabilities, and iCloud Drive compatibility.

Last week Chuck Joiner convened a MacJury comprising TidBITS’s own Josh Centers and Michael Cohen to discuss their early experiences with Apple Watch. Tune in for a deep, serious, deliberative discussion of the new device’s pros and cons…ah, who are we kidding? We had a great and goofy time, and you might, too: you can find out — it’s just a click away!

Smile has acknowledged a bug in TextExpander touch 3.2.3 (released on 7 April 2015) that “appears to erase all your snippets.” Fortunately, the snippets aren’t really gone, just inaccessible. A forthcoming update to TextExpander touch will restore them, or, if you use Dropbox for snippet syncing, you can recover them from Dropbox. The bug and methods for dealing with it are fully documented in the Smile blog post. The most important takeaway is this: Do NOT delete and reinstall the app, which could cause you to lose your snippets irrevocably!

The Apple Watch reviews have begun to pour in, all attempting to answer the obvious question that arises whenever Apple releases a new product line: “Should I buy it?” The answer, as always, is “maybe.”

If you’re wondering how well the Apple Watch might work for people with accessibility issues, over at iMore, Steven Aquino takes a detailed look at the accessibility features Apple has woven into its new wearable. Aquino’s report is encouraging, and amusingly notes that the digital crown has “a definite lubriciousness.”

Apple continues to reduce the size of Mac components in its drive to produce smaller and more energy-efficient Macs. The little-heralded Mac mini is the latest to wander into the beam of Apple’s shrink ray, emerging as the Apple TV-sized Mac micro.

It is being billed as the epic battle of the books, with the winner defining how Steve Jobs will be remembered, but Schlender and Tetzeli’s “Becoming Steve Jobs” and Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” are not really at war.

Apple devoted a segment of its recent “Spring Forward” event to the introduction of ResearchKit, a software framework for collecting medical research data within iOS. Like many 1.0 products, it has both great promise and some growing up to do.

Apple revealed more, but not all, about the Apple Watch in its “Spring Forward” event today. Notably, you’ll be able to pre-order an Apple Watch on 10 April 2015, with delivery two weeks later. But you might not like the prices.